Space Explored

To put it bluntly, Boeing’s attempts at an Orbital Flight Test of their CST-100 Starliner capsule have been a complete wreck. The success of Starliner is imperative so NASA will have redundant systems for access to the ISS, but a delay to 2022 is unsurprising.

With the first launch of SLS for the Artemis 1 mission closer than ever before, we want to take a look back at the testing that has gotten us to this point. The most recent test being the Umbilical Release and Retract Test (URRT).

This week Space Explored’s Seth Kurkowski and Derek Wise discuss the first all civilian mission to orbit, the shocking change to NASA’s leadership for human spaceflight, what Starship’s Draft Environmental Assessment means for the program, and more.

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Artemis III landing on the Moon in 2024 has always been a lofty goal, but NASA officials stuck to the date even as the previous administration left. Today, they began to officially acknowledge the breakdown of the deadline.

Rocket Lab, an American small sat launcher, won a contract to launch a demonstration mission for Astroscale. The mission will demonstrate Astroscales active debris removal for phase one of JAXA’s Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project.

SLS is undergoing testing ahead of Orion integration and rollout for the Wet Dress Rehearsal for the Artemis 1 mission. But it’s not only Orion going to the Moon. 13 CubeSats are tagging along, at least now it’s 13…

The newest branch of the United States Armed Forces has slowly begun building its own brand. Following Monday’s Space Force unveiling of enlisted rank insignia, the service has shown off their dress and physical fitness uniform prototypes.

There was something refreshing last summer when NASA promoted Kathy Lueders from her leadership role over Commercial Crew and Commercial Cargo programs to lead Human Explorations & Operations.

A key goal of the Artemis program is to send the first woman and person of color to the Moon in this decade. It only felt appropriate that a highly qualified female would make key Artemis program decisions after the unceremonious departure of her predecessor.

Now Bill Nelson’s NASA is dividing the human spaceflight program into two separate mission directorates: Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and Space Operations Mission Directorate.

Jim Free, a former NASA deputy, will take on exploration duties while Lueders retains her responsibilities in operations.

It’s hard to believe that SpaceX has only just started launching people to space, but that’s practically the case with just four crewed missions under their belt since last year. DM-2, Crew-1, and Crew-2 missions for NASA saw the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft send humans to the International Space Station. The journey inside Dragon wasn’t also the destination as it was for Inspiration4.

What changes when the experience in Dragon is tested by ordinary people for whom the SpaceX spacecraft is also the endpoint in space? SpaceX founder Elon Musk has weighed in with some early suggestions that range from cooking methods to waste management.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger Towberman announced the new rank insignias for enlisted Guardians Monday.

NASA teams are racing towards the first launch of the SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center. The final pieces needed for sull stack testing were installed a few days ago, the Orion stage adapter structural test article, and Orion Mass Simulator. The full stack of SLS is expected to roll out to LC-39B for further testing and a Wet Dress Rehearsal.

This week Inspiration4 launched into orbit and returned to Earth, SpaceX launched polar Starlink satellites from the West Cost, and a Falcon Heavy side booster will be put on display.

Beyond sharing a photo of his new dog Floki, talking about UFOs, and stressing the importance of reusable rockets on Twitter this week, Elon has also shared new features, including Starlink, that will be coming to the Crew Dragon capsule.

The crew of China’s Shenzhou-12 mission have returned safely back to Earth after their 90-day stay on the Tiangong space station.

The Inspiration4 crew successfully splashed down in the Atlantic following their nearly three days orbiting the Earth. In a great conclusion to the mission, Elon Musk shared that he would be donating $50 million dollars to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—pushing the fundraising campaign past its $200 million goal.

Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research center will announce the landing site of the Artemis program’s first robotic rover, VIPER. The rover will explore the lunar south pole in search of resources for crewed missions.

Wednesday night we witnessed the first all civilian crew launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. Over the next three days, they will perform research and enjoy the views of Earth from an altitude of 580 km. Learn how to track Inspiration4’s Dragon spacecraft throughout their flight.

Earlier this week SpaceX launched their first operational Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission featured the first droneship landing on the west coast since early 2019, which means the stunning booster returns to California have also returned.

SpaceX launched their first non-NASA crewed mission, Inspiration4, to orbit using their Dragon spacecraft on Wednesday night. The crew members are not professional astronauts, but average citizens. They were not selected based on the strict requirements of previous astronauts, but instead for their ability to represent and inspire the world.

The long-awaited Inspiration4 mission will launch this week from the historic LC-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The flight, paid for by Shift4 founder and CEO Jared Issacman, will carry Issacman along with 3 other civilians.

Over the months we have come to know Issacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Dr. Sian Proctor, and Chris Sembroski. This week a new era of spaceflight begins as these four take to the sky inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule as the company’s first commercial astronaut mission.

Date: Wednesday, September 15th, 8:02 p.m. EDT